Angus Porter to head Added Value

6 September, 2005

Angus Porter, recognised for his achievements with some of the world’s leading brands, and one of the UK industry’s most senior and respected international marketers, is to become Global CEO of the Added Value Group, WPP’s marketing insight agency. He replaces Tamara Ingram who has moved to a Grey/ P & G role. Joining on 12th September, he will assume global responsibilities for Added Value and report to Eric Salama, Chairman and CEO of Kantar. In making the announcement, Eric Salama said: "Angus is a great appointment for Added Value Group. He is a first class business man and a shrewd, incisive marketer.

"Angus understands how clients buy brand and marketing advice, and he has shown throughout his career that he has the intellect, strategic skills and credentials to run a global business.

"This marks a new and important chapter in Added Value’s history and wand New Added Value will help their clients make an even bigger impact in the marketplace. We are delighted to welcome him as Global CEO of the group."

Angus Porter said: "WPP is a business that I admire tremendously and Added Value is one of the jewels in its crown. I am absolutely delighted to be joining the business and look forward to leading Added Value at such an important stage in its development. "I believe that my client-side experience in FMCG, telecommunications and financial services will be an asset to the business and complement the organisation’s many strengths. In particular, I am relishing the opportunity to work with the senior management team and all our talent across our network in 13 countries.

"Added Value’s aim is to help our clients ignite desire for their brands, businesses and people, and this vision will be the platform for our growth."

Angus Porter: Background History

Angus served as Customer Director on the main plc Board of Abbey National and Chairman of its Customer Board from July 2003 until his resignation in April 2005. He was headhunted to join Abbey National and led the top team in terms of coordinating the delivery of Abbey’s customer proposition and had overall responsibility for marketing, product development and pricing. Angus joined Abbey after its CEO had set the core brand direction and worked alongside him to develop and execute it. During his two years with Abbey, the business was restored to profitability and a number of serious financial, customer and regulatory issues were resolved. Along with other members of the Board, Angus believed that the Santander offer was good for Abbey and its shareholders, and following the completion of the takeover, and a period in which he was instrumental in ensuring smooth handover to new ownership, he left to seek a new challenge.

Prior to joining Abbey, Angus was with BT plc, firstly as UK Consumer Marketing Director, before being promoted to Managing Director of BT’s Consumer Division in September 2000. Angus created a clear strategy to arrest and reverse BT’s decline in the residential area. The most challenging task was to galvanize the people in BT to embrace and deliver the strategy. During his time in the role, he helped turn around the business in both revenue and profit, and improved customer perceptions of BT. In addition, he was responsible for the launch of BT Together, BT Broadband, BT Answer 1571. Whilst at BT, he was appointed as a non-executive of MyTravel in 2002.

Angus worked for Mars Confectionery for 15 years prior to BT. He joined Mars in Research and Development, but spent the majority of his career in Sales and Marketing, including a period as UK Sales Director and four years as UK Marketing Director. During this time, Mars managed to cast off its image as a conservative marketing company with its entry into the ice cream market and a number of highly successful product launches, including "Celebrations". Angus is a Cambridge Natural Sciences graduate, and following a PhD in the Department of Metallurgy and Material Science was Goldsmiths Research Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge. Angus was born in 1957 and is married with three children. Added Value/ Icon Added Value/ DR Added ValueIn October 2004, the talents and assets of three leading agencies within the WPP Kantar division – the German-based Icon Brand Navigation, the US-based Diagnostic Research and the UK-based Added Value – joined together to form a new kind of global marketing insight company.

The new company operates under the business names Icon Added Value, DR Added Value and Added Value and is one of the largest operations within WPP’s Kantar division (which spans research, insight and consultancy companies). With a footprint that now extends across 21 locations in 13 countries, Added Value Group helps clients ignite desire for their brands, businesses and people. By drawing on the expertise within its new global network, Added Value Group fuses brand marketing, consumer insight, innovation, and communications optimisation to help solve clients’ marketing problems.